The main breakdown of dual degree programs describes same-school dual bachelor's degrees in general terms -- "commonly a BA from arts & sciences paired with a BS from engineering or business." Here's what that actually looks like at real schools, by name, including one long-running program that just stopped taking new students.
Northwestern's Bienen dual degrees: two real, currently active programs
Northwestern runs two official five-year dual-degree tracks through its Bienen School of Music:
- Bienen-Weinberg: a Bachelor of Music (or Bachelor of Arts in Music) from Bienen combined with a Bachelor of Arts from Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
- Bienen-McCormick: a Bachelor of Music (or Bachelor of Arts in Music) from Bienen combined with a Bachelor of Science from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Both require admission to both schools at once -- applicants typically apply to the dual program during the regular admission cycle, before matriculating, not as a later add-on once already enrolled. Both are structured as five-year programs, the same extended timeline that shows up across most same-school dual-degree structures.
The cautionary example: Tufts/NEC just ended after nearly 50 years
The Tufts/New England Conservatory Five-Year Combined Degree paired a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science from Tufts with a Bachelor of Music from NEC -- a real, established program that ran for nearly 50 years. As of 2024, Tufts and NEC stopped accepting new students into the program entirely; students already enrolled or already accepted are being allowed to finish, but no one new is getting in. A separate, similarly structured Harvard-NEC dual degree remains a distinct, currently active program -- the two aren't the same partnership, and one ending doesn't mean the other did.
The lesson this actually teaches
A same-school dual-degree program being real, well-established, and even decades old is no guarantee it's still accepting applicants when you're ready to apply. Tufts/NEC ran for essentially half a century before ending -- long enough that plenty of general "dual degree programs" lists published even a couple of years ago would still list it as active. Always confirm directly on the specific program's own current page, not a general roundup, whether it's still open before building an application plan around it.
What this means for you
- "Same-school dual degree" isn't one generic thing -- Northwestern's two Bienen tracks show what a real, specific, currently active version actually looks like: named schools, a named timeline, and admission to both components at once.
- A program's age or reputation doesn't guarantee it's still open -- Tufts/NEC ran for decades before ending to new students in 2024; verify current status directly on the program's own page, not an older article or general list.
- If a music-plus-another-field combination interests you, check whether the specific pairing you want still exists -- Harvard/NEC remaining active while Tufts/NEC ended shows these are genuinely separate, individually run partnerships, not one interchangeable category.
- Expect the same five-year, dual-admission structure across this category generally -- apply to both components together, before matriculating, not as something you add once you're already enrolled.
- This is one real, named example within the broader dual-degree landscape -- see the full breakdown of dual degree program types for how this compares to 3-2 engineering programs and two-school partnerships like Brown-RISD.